The MM’s painted in white curbside along portions of FifthAvenue aren’t a sly reference to a popular candy, and they don’tmean that a certain rodent of TV and movie fame has been tovisit.
For shoppers and merchants along the busy strip, they have a farmore meaningful significance – MuniMeters are on their way.
The news was announced by Josephine Beckmann, the districtmanager of Community Board 10, at the board’s April meeting.
The Department of Transportation expects to install the newmeters – which allow more cars to park on a block because they donot delineate individual parking spots – this fall, said Beckmann,who said that, Eventually, all of Fifth Avenue will haveMuniMeters.
The board had previously recommended that the city installMuniMeters along many of the commercial corridors in theneighborhood. We don’t have an exact list, but our understandingis that the city is moving forward.
The addition of MuniMeters is good news, said Jim Clark, thepresident of the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District. Itgives us more parking places, he stressed.
Merchants agreed. Frank DeRosa, the pharmacist at Waldinger’sPharmacy on Fifth Avenue near 73rd Street said, If it frees upmore spots, it’s a good thing.
Nonetheless, DeRosa said, the installation would benefit thecity’s coffers as well, because MuniMeters do not allow motoriststo take advantage of the time left on a meter when they pull up,meaning they always have to feed the meter. That’s what the city’sbenefit is, he noted.
Motorists were mixed as to whether it would really make adifference to them.
Stefanie, who had just pulled into a parking spot, said that shehad had no trouble parking. It’ll probably be the same, sheopined.
Another motorist who declined to give his name disagreed. Idefinitely have a lot of trouble trying to find parking here, hesaid. Any change that can add spots along the congested strip wouldhelp, he added.
MuniMeters have been requested by merchants along the strip foryears. Before the BID even existed, we were asking, recalledClark, who said that the request for MuniMeters along Fifth Avenuedated back to the strip’s reconstruction, which was completed in2003. Then however, he added, The city turned us down.